PUTRAJAYA: A former police station chief convicted of accepting a bribe was spared a jail sentence today after the Court of Appeal set aside the two-month jail term imposed on him and substituted it with a fine of RM10,000.
A three-man bench comprising Court of Appeal judges Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, Azmi Ariffin and High Court judge Noorin Badaruddin allowed Mohamed Azli Adam’s appeal to set aside the jail sentence.
However, the court dismissed his appeal to overturn his conviction for accepting a RM300 cash bribe from a 43-year-old individual at the police station on March 14, 2016.
In delivering the court’s decision, Justice Ahmad Zaidi imposed the RM10,000 fine, in default six months’ jail if Mohamed Azli, 60, failed to pay the fine.
The court also gave Mohamed Azli until Monday to pay the fine.
In May 2022, the Shah Alam Sessions Court convicted Mohamed Azli, sentencing him to two months' imprisonment and imposing a RM5,000 fine, with a default of six months' jail if the fine is not paid.
His appeal was dismissed by the Shah Alam High Court on Feb 28 last year. Mohamed Azli was allowed to be released on bail of RM6,000 with one surety pending the disposal of his appeal to the Court of Appeal.
According to the facts of the case, there were complaints to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) alleging that government authorities were protecting illegal activities of massage parlours and brothels. MACC then planned a trap through undercover officers.
Mohamed Azli’s lawyer, Wan Shahrizal Wan Ladin, pleaded to the court to set aside the jail sentence, saying that his client served nearly 33 years with the Royal Malaysia Police and (in 2022) had two more years left before mandatory retirement.
He also asked the court to give his client until Monday to pay the fine, as there was not enough time for him to settle it today. However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Noorhisham Mohd Jaafar objected to this. - Bernama
